Northern Virginia businessman and helicopter owner-pilot Scott Kasprowicz, along with copilot Steve Sheik, broke the international New York-to-Los Angeles transcontinental rotorcraft speed record on February 16 flying N1US, a factory-standard AgustaWestland A109S Grand. Kasprowicz and Sheik made the 2,139.8-nm trip in 15 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds, easily besting the previous record of 19 hours and 16 seconds set in 1985. Because it is an international record, the National Aeronautic Association will record the official distance as 3,962.8 kilometers.
The pair left Sheltair Aviation at New York La Guardia Airport at 4:12:20 a.m. EST on February 16 and made six fuel stops along the way before landing at Landmark Aviation at Los Angeles International Airport at 7:21:30 p.m. EST. Kasprowicz and Sheik averaged 141.3 knots on their journey, despite encountering 10- to 15-knot headwinds. Fuel stops made along the way included Butler, Pa.; Kokomo, Ind.; Kirksville, Mo.; Great Bend, Kan.; Alamosa, Colo.; and Grand Canyon, Ariz.
“There were many challenges to overcome on this flight, including some rapidly changing weather conditions,” Kasprowicz said upon landing in Los Angeles. “The ground crews we encountered along the way were terrific. They got us in and out of our fuel stops in great time.” Kasprowicz, 55, a fixed-wing pilot since he was a teenager, has logged nearly 1,000 hours of helicopter flight time in recent years.
AgustaWestland executive vice president for commercial sales in the Americas Lou Bartolotta used the flight as a platform to showcase the Grand’s attributes. “This record reflects the full extent and performance of the Grand and the capability, reliability and exceptional quality of AgustaWestland’s products,” he said. “We are proud to have been a small part of this tremendous accomplishment.”
From Los Angeles, Kasprowicz and Sheik flew N1US here to Heli-Expo to be formally recognized by AgustaWestland. Kasprowicz also plans to officially announce here his next world record speed attempt, “a less than 17-day around-the-world flight in helicopter N1US.” The record attempt, which Kasprowicz has dubbed The Grand Adventure, is scheduled to launch this summer. N1US, based in the Midatlantic area, was the first Grand to enter service in the U.S.
